A San Francisco couple who subjected their tenants to a terrifying campaign of threats and terror in an effort to evict them have been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

For more than three years Kip and Nicole Macy stalked their tenants, threatened them with a semi-automatic weapon, changed the locks without telling them, and tried to have the windows boarded up while one tenant was still at home.

The couple also tried to saw through a supporting beam in one of the Market district flats, but were stopped when the tenant, who was in, managed to bend the blade.

Guilty: Kip and Nicole Macy were charged with burglary, stalking and grand theft after trying to evict tenants

The couple were found guilty of residential burglary, stalking and attempted grand theft after their efforts to evict tenants from a building in Clementina Street.

'The actions of these defendants are so outlandish and brazen that it sounds like the plot line of a horror movie,' San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said, as he sentenced the couple on Wednesday.

The campaign of terror began soon after the couple bought an apartment block for $995,000 in 2005 and tried to evict the five tenants already living in it.

Within a year, the Macys were involved in litigation with Scott Morrow, one of the tenants.

Mrs Macy, 37, set up a fake email account in Mr Morrow's name and sent a message to his lawyer saying his services were no longer needed, according to theHuffington Post.

She then sent an email threatening to dismember the lawyer's children, in an effort to make Mr Morrow look unstable.

A month later the couple had a hole cut through his floor with a power saw while Mr Morrow was at home, and had his electricity cut off.

A beam was also cut through in the belief that the property would be deemed unsafe and the tenants would be forced to move out.

Shocking: A tenant was at home when he realized a power saw was being used to cut a hole in his floor

Terror: Scott Morrow had successfully fought eviction when the Macys had a large hole cut in his floor

Despite repeated demands from building inspectors for the beam to be repaired, the Macys refused. Eventually the city paid for the $8,000 repairs and sent the couple the bill, which they have not paid.

'This is a very bizarre case,' deputy city attorney Jennifer Choi toldSF Gate. 'It seemed like these landlords went from zero to extremely angry very quickly.'

The attorney for two of the other tenants called the Macys 'lawless landlords'. The couple had changed the locks on the apartment leased to Erik Hernandez and Jason Lopez after they began paying a reduced rate because they were being overcharged under rent control law.

After changing the locks, the Macys entered the apartment, dismantled furniture and stole $2,000, a Gucci watch and a phone.

When Mr Hernandez came home to find Mr Macy, 38, in his home, the landlord kicked him in the chest, according to the law suite.

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Mrs Macy also broke into the apartment and poured ammonia on the tenants' clothes and furniture.

'I would say this is horrendous, a total abuse of tenants and human beings so they could have their way and totally ignore the law,' Mr Steve Collier said.

The couple also threatened the building manager with a semi-automatic weapon and ordered the windows to one of the apartments to be boarded up while the tenant was still inside.

Lisa Dewberry, Mr Macy's attorney, told ABC 7: 'He and his wife were naive when coming to a town like San Francisco, to try and do what they wanted to do, not realizing how tough the landlord tenant laws are here.'

She added: 'They're not saying their behavior was appropriate, they regret their behavior.'

Dangerous: The couple also had joists cut in the apartment building in their attempts to evict the tenants

Full house: When the Macys bought the apartment building in Clementina Street it already had five tenants

When the Macys were arrested in 2008 they posted bail and left the country. They were tracked down in Italy last year and brought back to the U.S. where bail was set at $2 million each.

In a plea deal the couple will be jailed for four and half years, and will have two strikes against them under California's three strike rule.

Mr Morrow, who sued the couple, declined to comment on the sentencing but Ms Choi said: 'This has been very traumatic for him. He literally never leaves his apartment because he thinks the Macys will change the locks.'